From Alta Val Taro: Potato Gnocchi with Porcini Ragù

Gnocchi belongs to my "roots" even though it is not one of the dishes I remember my grandmother making from scratch. She did buy them and make them for us sometimes, and that matters. In a real family kitchen, roots are not necessarily only what someone hand rolled every Sunday. It is also what they chose to feed people when time was short, when the pantry was what it was, and when the goal was comfort, not a performance. Gnocchi is exactly that kind of food. Soft, steady, and built to carry sauce.

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In Alta Val Taro, gnocchi is less about a single official preparation and more about what the mountains give you. Borgo Val di Taro is the home of Porcini di Borgotaro, a protected origin porcini, and mushrooms shape the way this valley cooks. Potato gnocchi with a porcini ragù is one of the classic pairings, and even when the sauce is tomato based, it still stays mushroom driven. When fresh porcini are in season, late summer into autumn, that is when you see gnocchi paired with sautéed or stewed porcini on local tables, because the valley follows its mushrooms the way coastal towns follow their fish.

I followed up with my cousin Giada in Bedonia because I wanted to get her husband Andrea’s thoughts on porcini quality exactly right. She confirmed that the porcini prized most for flavor in the Alta Val Taro are the ones picked in chestnut and oak forests, around 1,000 meters above sea level. Higher up, under beech trees, the mushrooms are often prettier and keep longer once harvested, but they are less flavorful. It is the kind of detail locals just know, and it explains why some porcini are meant for the pan the same day, while others are better suited to drying or keeping.

When the woods quiet down and winter settles in, the gnocchi story shifts. You see the pantry versions that feel completely Alta Val Taro, chicche di bosco made with potatoes and chestnuts, sometimes with greens folded in and a touch of dried porcini for depth, then finished simply with ricotta loosened with milk or cooking water, or butter and Parmigiano. You also see malfatti style gnocchetti (stay tuned for that recipe), ricotta and Swiss char, soft dumplings finished with butter, Parmigiano, and nutmeg. It is the same rhythm, make something tender, keep it simple, let the ingredients speak.

And then there is tomato, because tomato is comfort, period. Even in a mountain valley known for porcini and polenta, there is always a place for a red sauce, especially when you want something dependable and familiar. That is the lane that connects back to my grandmother’s table. It is why my Italian family recipes would not feel complete without gnocchi, even if I am the one doing the mastering now. The dish is a bridge. From the ValTaro to my kitchen in New York, with porcini in the sauce, a little tomato for warmth, and gnocchi that exist for one reason, to carry the story.

Gnocchi with Porcini Ragù

(serves 6)

Potato Gnocchi Dough:

• 1.5 kg potatoes (3.3 lbs.), russet or other starchy, skins on

• 300-360 g all purpose flour (10.5 to 12.75 oz.), plus more for dusting

• 2 tsp. fine salt

• 1 egg yolk

Porcini Ragù Ingredients:

• 60 g dried porcini (2 oz.)

• 1.2 liters water for soaking (5 cups)

• 700 g Cremini mushrooms (1.5 lbs.), sliced

• 6 Tbs. olive oil

• 4 Tbs. unsalted butter

• 2 small onions, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, smashed

• 2 Tbs. tomato paste

• 700 g passata (24 oz.) - What is passata?

• pinch of dried thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• salt & pepper, q.b.

• Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Make the Porcini Ragù:

If you can find fresh porcini, see these adaptations.

• Cover dried porcini with hot water and let sit 20 to 30 minutes. Lift mushrooms out, squeeze gently, chop. Let the soaking liquid settle, then pour off slowly and filter it through a coffee filter or very fine mesh.

• Heat 3 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. butter in a wide pan. Add half the cremini in a single layer and let them cook until their liquid releases, evaporates, and you get browning. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the second half.

• Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté until soft and sweet, about 5 to 8 minutes.

• Add 2 smashed garlic cloves and cook about a minute, just to perfume the oil. Do not let it brown.

• Stir in the chopped porcini. Add about 500 ml of the filtered porcini liquid. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes.

• Stir in tomato paste and cook 30 seconds. Add the passata. Simmer gently 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it thickens too fast, loosen with a splash more porcini liquid.

• Remove the garlic cloves. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 tbsp butter.

Make the Gnocchi:

• Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake the potatoes whole, skins on, until completely tender. Split open and let steam off 5 to 10 minutes.

• Rice the potatoes while still hot. Spread them out on the board in a thin layer and let it cool until just warm.

• To form the dough, mound the potato. Sprinkle the salt over it. Add 300 g flour and the beaten yolk if using. Bring it together gently. Add more flour only if it will not hold. You will not use a fixed flour number every time. Start lower and add only what you need.

• Test gnocchiPoach one gnocco in gently simmering salted water. If it holds and is tender, proceed. If it falls apart, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and test again.

• Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll into ropes, cut into pillows, and dust lightly with flour. Transfer to a tray, or use a gnocchi board or fork to make ridges and a small well in each piece.

Putting it all Together:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

• Add the gnocchi and lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until they float, then give them 20 to 30 seconds more.

• Transfer straight into your sauce and served topped with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Featured Wine

Castello di Verduno Verduno Pelaverga Piccolo Basadone is a beautiful match for potato gnocchi with porcini and tomato. You get the lift you need for marinara and the gentle spice you want with mushrooms, without heavy tannin landing on the softness of the gnocchi. Pelaverga drinks light on its feet, so it respects the dish’s comfort factor, but it still brings that peppery, savory edge that makes porcini taste even more porcini.

Basadone is a local dialect word for the poppy flower, a nod to the bright red poppies you see in and around the vineyards, and it also carries a playful little kiss meaning. It is charming, local, and exactly the kind of detail that makes this bottle feel personal before you even pull the cork.

Pelaverga Piccolo is one of Piedmont’s true local grapes, tied to the tiny Verduno Pelaverga DOC. The style is unmistakable. Pale ruby color, bright red fruit, and that signature peppery note that reads like white pepper and dried herbs rather than dark fruit or oak. It is the kind of red that feels made for food, especially dishes that lean earthy and tomato based.

Castello di Verduno sits in Verduno, the northernmost Barolo commune, in a castle that has held vineyard land for centuries. The property was purchased by the Burlotto family in 1909, and it is still family run today, now led by Gabriella Burlotto and her husband Franco Bianco. Verduno is a tiny village and the wine stories here are intertwined, so you will also see the Burlotto name elsewhere in the commune, but Castello di Verduno is its own estate and its own line.

If you can not find Pelaveraga, try a light reds with high acidity and modest tannin. Morellino di Scansano, Chianti Colli Senesi (or a lighter, young Chianti), Ciliegiolo, Barbera (in a fresh, low oak style), or Freisa (in a dry, lighter style) could also work.

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What is Passata?

It is simply tomato purée that has been cooked briefly and strained, so it is smooth and seed free, with a clean tomato flavor. It is not as thick as paste and it is usually less chunky than most canned crushed tomatoes.

If you cannot find passata, use one of these.

• Crushed tomatoes: closest swap. Use the same amount, then blend if you want it smoother.

• Whole peeled tomatoes: break them up by hand or blend, then use the same amount.

• Tomato purée in a can: also works. It is usually a little denser, so loosen with a splash of water or broth if needed.

Avoid tomato sauce that is already seasoned unless you want the sauce to taste like whatever the manufacturer added.

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If you are lucky enough to find fresh porcini mushrooms!

Ingredient changes:

• Fresh porcini: 400 to 600 g, cleaned and sliced

• Cremini: 300 to 400 g (instead of 700 g)

• Dried porcini: 20 to 25 g (instead of 60 g)

• Hot water for soaking: 500 to 600 ml (instead of 1.2 L)

• Passata: 1 to 1.5 jars (700 to 1,050 g), depending how tomato forward you want itEverything else stays the same.

Method changes:

• Soak the dried porcini, then filter the liquid. Chop the soaked porcini.

• Brown the fresh porcini first in olive oil and a little butter, single layer, then transfer to a bowl.

• Brown the cremini next, then proceed with onion and the smashed garlic.

• Add the chopped soaked porcini and start with about 200 ml of the filtered porcini liquid.

• Add tomato paste, then passata. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

• Add the fresh porcini back for the last 5 to 8 minutes, just to warm through and keep their texture.

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